Junior Board

Junior Board – Young Professionals Group

The LSA Junior Board is a group of young dynamic NYC professionals who participate in projects and activities that help LSA to serve and empower East Harlem families. They collaborate with LSA’s staff to host fundraising and social networking events, as well as direct service activities with children and families in LSA programs.

The group is open to young professionals interested in bringing their skills and experience to the group’s activities, as well as leveraging their networks to help grow LSA’s support base and raise awareness of the needs of families living in poverty in East Harlem.

John Gelini
John Gelini is the East Coast Sales Director at Gawker Media Group, a digital publisher covering politics, tech, sports, auto, video games, personal productivity and pop culture. After graduating from The University of Vermont in 2006, John followed in his father’s footsteps and began a career in advertising sales. John landed his first role in the industry with NBC Universal that same year. In 2010, John moved on to join Bloomberg LP, climbing the ranks to Senior Account Executive in the company’s Media division by late 2015. In 2016, John took a Director position at the Gawker Media Group, a publisher that he enjoyed for years as a fan.

John has been volunteering time to LSA since 2011, when he started as a member of the Host Committee and moved on to be a proud member of LSA’s Junior Board. John had every advantage growing up in suburban Connecticut and was looking for a way to give back to the community as an adult. He joined LSA on the advice of his close friend Peter Stonbely and has been helping LSA kids carve Jack ‘O Lanterns on Halloween ever since.

Zia Heller
Zia serves as a Senior Strategy & Finance Consultant at Launch Collective, where she partners with founders, investors, and senior management of early-stage consumer ventures to maximize financial returns and mitigate operational risks. In her role at Launch Collective, Ms. Heller works in close partnership with founding teams to assess market opportunities, develop growth and marketing plans, and forecast capital needs. Prior to working at Launch Collective, Zia worked in Capital Markets with Houlihan Lokey and on the Global Portfolio Management team at Citigroup as an Analyst covering investments in Technology, Media, Telecommunications, and Consumer companies. Zia graduated with honors from Boston University and is a passionate capoeirista and former ballerina.

Zia was first introduced to LSA Family Health Service through the after-school tutoring program in 2012. She was quickly impressed by the holistic service model at LSA, the professionalism of the LSA staff, and the determination and drive of the students she worked with in the tutoring program. After one semester of tutoring, she decided to make a long-term commitment to the agency through service on the LSA Junior Board.

Kelina Jones
Kelina Jones works at Levin Capital Strategies, an SEC registered investment advisor based in New York. Kelina graduated from Syracuse University with an MFA in poetry in 2009, while attending she taught writing and literature courses and organized the graduate reading series. Before joining Levin Capital Kelina worked as a community liaison and outreach director at Citizens Campaign for the Environment where she assisted in campaigns addressing public health, water protection, and climate change. After moving to East Harlem, Kelina was anxious to find a social nonprofit that benefited the community she lived in and was thrilled to find LSA. She finds it incredibly rewarding to support a nonprofit that serves families in her own neighborhood and enjoys occasionally passing LSA fieldtrips on her walk home.

Madeleine Livingston
Madeleine Livingston is a business analyst for the Treasury & Trade division of Citibank. Madeleine graduated from The Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University with a degree in International Economics. Prior to her career at Citi, she worked as a Research Assistant for The Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center where she contributed to economic research publications, acted as a grant writer for financial literacy programs, and coordinated local and global financial literacy seminars and conferences. Long an advocate of economic and political empowerment through education, she has participated in conferences throughout the U.S. and presented original research. She is also a volunteer with various historical conservancy organizations, as well as a participant in the New York Changemaker Chats. Madeleine first became involved with LSA in 2015, and felt drawn to the holistic model of care with which they serve the East Harlem community. She is thrilled to be working with the passionate and driven members of the LSA Junior Board.

Julia Mouk
Julia is an Assistant Project Manager at The Moon Group, a construction and design boutique. She is responsible for representing owners from the most rudimentary stages to full completion – coordinating involved parties to provide the most efficient and cost-effective outcome. She hopes to one day use this experience to build essential structures in developing countries.

Julia attended both college and graduate school at Brandeis University, studying International and Global Studies and then Global Health and International Development respectively. She served as the Lead Researcher at the Desmond Tutu HIV Center in Cape Town, South Africa and the Head Researcher and Director of Development at Fencing In The Schools, based out of NYC. Both her studies and work illustrate her commitment to providing health, education and income opportunities to underserved parties, both domestically and abroad.

Rebecca Smith
Rebecca is an Associate Director at CCS Fundraising, an international fundraising management and strategy consulting firm. Rebecca holds an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from Columbia University, an M.S.W. from NYU, and a B.A. from SFSU. Prior to her career in nonprofit development, Rebecca worked as a therapist with the severely and persistently mentally ill population and is a Licensed Master Social Worker.

Rebecca joined the Junior Board in 2015 and is a Co-chair of the Junior Board and leads the Board Recruitment Committee. Rebecca is passionate about supporting LSA through growing awareness among young professionals and raising funds to support the incredible services LSA provides.

Bianca Wilson Tamagnini
Bianca is part of the sustainability team at Pearson, a global education company. She works to embed social and environmental issues into business strategy and operations to drive long-term corporate growth and ensure the company has a positive impact on the world. Before joining Pearson, Bianca spent nearly seven years at the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, where she held roles focusing on strategic communications, thought leadership, and organizational strategy. Previously, she worked with UNICEF and other NGOs advocating for the rights of women and children, and while in graduate school, she advised PepsiCo’s South American Foods division. Bianca holds a Masters of International Affairs from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University.

Bianca first became involved with LSA in 2014 and has enjoyed countless volunteer and social events since then. Her favorite part about being on the Junior Board is getting to work with LSA’s amazing families.

Chelsea Wang
Chelsea works as a mergers and acquisitions consultant within the KPMG deal advisory practice, where she specializes in the financial services industry with a particular focus on financial technology, insurance brokerage, and specialty lending businesses. Chelsea works with asset backed investors and fortune 1000 corporations on their acquisitive transactions to provide operational, strategic and financial insights. Prior to relocating to New York City from Canada, Chelsea worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers Toronto in the audit and assurance group, specializing in consumer & industrial products and services and real estate clients.

Chelsea was first introduced to LSA East Harlem through volunteering at direct service events with neighborhood children and quickly realized that the organization is making a huge difference in the lives of many families through its various channels of service. Chelsea is more than excited to join the Junior Board and work alongside all the other amazing members.